LOUISVILLE - WHAS11 News has gained permission to publish a letter from Marilyn Thomas, the woman who accused Kentucky Gubernatorial candidate James Comer of physical abuse, to Courier-Journal political reporter Joe Gerth in response to the scrutiny stemming from her accusations.
The letter also clarifies some circumstances surrounding the alleged physical abuse.
James Comer has since openly denied the allegations.
The letter, in its entirety, can be seen below:
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May 4, 2015
TO: Joe Gerth, Courier Journal
Via Email
Dear Joe,
Over the many months since you and I first spoke, I have always maintained that I do not wish to get involved in the 2015 gubernatorial race or discuss my past. My only concern and focus remains the safety of my family, most of whom still live in Kentucky, and to be able to keep living a private life.
I feel as if I have no choice but to speak up against the lies. The underbelly of the internet has painted me as a crazy person, a liar, an opportunist, a fame-seeker, and a bitter ex-girlfriend. My parents, who are now in their 80s, have endured vicious gossip, painful rumors, and relentless reporters. They know the truth and out of respect for my privacy, they have put up with it and also remained silent. But enough is enough.
Did Jamie Comer ever hit me? Yes.
I have spent the last 20+ years trying to put the relationship with Jamie Comer behind me. It was a relationship that lasted more than two years, not "a few months" as it was printed in the Lexington Herald-Leader. In the years since the relationship ended, on the rare occasion that I did see Jamie, it set me back emotionally and resulted in what I can only describe as post-traumatic stress. Reading in the newspaper last week that he viewed it as "catching up" with me was really jarring. I understand that some people cope with trauma by avoidance and denial but, rewriting history is an entirely other measure of insanity.
The harsh reality was that the relationship with Jamie was toxic, abusive, and caused me a lot of suffering. His controlling and aggressive personality alienated me from most of my family and friends at the time. Everything I did, everywhere I went, and everyone with whom I interacted had to be approved. Consequences were violent and swift otherwise.
The fact that I am speaking out now is not something I approached lightly. As a matter of fact, I feel under great duress in doing it now. I do not want to be involved in this. This letter will be the last thing that I say about Jamie Comer and my past relationship. Certain reporters and political strategists have demanded that I "do the right thing" and tell the truth. The fact that I was stalked and terrorized to this point, is beyond reproach. I was emotionally weak and stayed in that relationship far too long. More than two decades have passed in which I have had to live with my own doubts, regrets, and nightmares. It's not fair to now ask me to stand up and be counted as the face of a cause or the destruction of a politician.
I have to live with the memories of that relationship. Some of the moments from so long ago still linger in my mind and often stop me in my tracks. There was a moment when Jamie called my parents at 2AM to make violent threats against me. It still bothers my mother to this day. There was a moment when Jamie told my roommate that I was a whore because he had given me money for something that I couldn't afford.
There were several moments when Jamie and members of his family said to my face that I was nothing without him because I was from a trash farm family in Union County. There were countless moments when Jamie lectured me on how much I needed him so that I could actually make something of myself. There was a really disgusting moment when Jamie's grandfather took a sick amount of pleasure in telling me that Jamie had "sewn some wild oats" at the Republican National Convention in Houston and that if I wanted to be a political wife, I "had better get used to it."
And then, there was a very depressing and life-altering moment when we went to an abortion clinic in Louisville on a rainy day in November of 1991 that has mired every single aspect of my existence. A doctor there gave me a small piece of paper as a record of my appointment that I have kept all these years. The desperation of my 19 year old self being there was compounded when Jamie was enraged because I had used his real name on a form. The clinic required proof that I had an escort to take me home who was over 18. I kept that piece of paper as a reminder of what desperation and rock bottom feel like. For more than 20 years that piece of paper has been a source of anxiety and shame. But, it was mine. It was only mine. And now the world wants me to share it with them. That piece of paper, and all the scars of my relationship with Jamie, were reduced to fodder last week to tear down a politician, who I have also never met.
I can't speak to who Jamie Comer is now. The only thing I can truly speak to is who he was more than 20 years ago, and that I never wanted to speak of it publicly. I don't know how many different ways I could have conveyed to people that I didn't want to be involved in this. While I know it is akin to a sport to bring down an arrogant politician, it appears that destroying a victim is the real prize. The dialogue and whisper campaign that has been perpetuated by the likes of Michael Adams and Sam Youngman, two individuals who I have never met, has been served up to anyone who would listen for the sheer purpose of political gain. I have been harassed and threatened by Adams since last summer. Having not lived in Kentucky for nearly 20 years, I dismissed him as someone who is very unstable. But then he posted photos of me on his blog. And then he distributed my personal contact information to everyone he could think of. And then he posted the name of my hometown and my parents' names. And then he disclosed where I work and reporters and shady private investigators called my office relentlessly. And then the very personal and painful story about the abortion was sent in an email to Riggs Lewis, who is one of Jamie's campaign advisors. I reached out to Riggs Lewis directly and, in no uncertain terms, demanded that they leave me out of this campaign. The very next week the article came out in the Herald Leader, which I understand was "fed to the paper" by Riggs Lewis. Further, Jamie and at least two of his campaign staff have said numerous times that "the Marilyn Thomas situation has been handled," a comment that made it all the way to my hometown and sounded very ominous to my family.
I have kept Jamie's skeletons in a closet for him for more than two decades. Why on earth would I put myself through something so gross and public that would be humiliating for me too?
I am a private person. I moved away from the people and place that I love dearly to keep it that way. I have missed a lot of important moments because of the distance. I couldn't spend Christmas in Kentucky last year because paid private investigators had found out where my parents live. I'm missing my cousin's wedding next weekend because I don't want to be the disruptive side show on what I hope will be a perfect day for her. In spite of the Comer's repeatedly telling me that I was poor farm trash from a nothing town, I have always loved Western Kentucky and the people there. It hasn't been fair, but it has made my life easier to just go away. I foolishly believed, out of sight, out of mind. But I'm tired of being hunted and scared. I'm tired of wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. I want to go back to my normal life. I want total strangers to stop gossiping about me. I want shady reporters to stop offering me money to talk. I want my mother to be able to answer the phone at her house without worrying that it's someone looking for dirt on Jamie Comer.
Joe, you have been the exception to all of this with your willingness to protect my privacy. Like every other reporter in Kentucky, you heard rumors and whispers and called me. The only reason I even called you back is because I knew Al Cross a million years ago when I worked on a statewide campaign and had a lot of respect for him then. The difference between the vulture reporters and you was that you actually cared what happened to me. After that very emotional conversation that we had on September 5th, 2014, I truly believed that I might be able to keep my head down and get through the next months with my anonymity and life intact. I'm assuming your kind discretion went against every journalistic instinct that you have but, it proved something about you that many of the other reporters in Kentucky cannot claim. You are a true gentleman. I hope that the people who read your paper and those with whom you work fully understand how rare it is to be a political reporter with a soul.
I don't know what I hope to accomplish by writing this letter to you. Even as I write it, I am sick to my stomach knowing that the Jamie Comer machine will likely come after me now. I just hope that people will try to understand that I am a good person who never wanted any of this attention. I am only concerned with the safety of my family and my own dignity. I want nothing to do with the person who caused me a lot of pain, and could easily drown me in quicksand again with this public nightmare.
My apologies for the longwinded letter. Brevity isn't one of my strengths and it's been a really long time since I've had to discuss any of this. Thank you again for being a decent human being, and please thank your wife for the kind thoughts and words.
Marilyn Thomas
